


Dreams of a child

by Just_morefandomtrash



Series: Minami Week 2017 - 12th - 19th June [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M, Makeup is gender neutral you can fight me on this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 05:05:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11223921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_morefandomtrash/pseuds/Just_morefandomtrash
Summary: Prompt: Growing up/FutureFt. Press conferences, recollection of the past, Guang-Hong with fabulous makeup, skaters exploring themselves and Plinami.





	Dreams of a child

**Author's Note:**

> I accidently deleted this because my phone glitched, sorry if anyone had bookmarked this before.

"Kenjirou, would you like to share your childhood dreams with us?"

Childhood dreams...

"I had a dream as a child. A dream that one day I would skate in front of a crowd and not submit to anxiety. I was a small child proudly declaring my dream to my parents and first coach. Coach Haruka, have I made you proud? Sensei, you introduced me to the worlds of skating and jazz, picking me up when I fell, and I thank you for that. I don't think I'd be the person I am today. When you retired, it was perhaps one of the lowest points in my life. I think it's always hardest when you lose something you've become attatched to. My second coach, Coach Miyu, I believe she's in the crowd tonight, introduced me to many types of dance, building on my previous knowledge. Breakdance, ballet, tap... Even a little bit of pole dancing for fun."

"YOU DID WHAT?"

Laughing, he wrapped his arms around a scandalised Yuri, patting his head.

"Yup, I can put on a show for you later."

Winking, he chuckled as Yuri turned bright red and buried his head in his arms. Running his fingers through his boyfriend's hair, he turned to face the press again.

"Coach Miyu also helped me discover the LGBT+ community. It was terrifying coming to the realisation that I wasn't straight. Sensei and her girlfriend at the time, congrats on the marriage by the way, helped me figure out if I wanted a label or not. It changed several times over the years, shifting from one end of the spectrum to the other through puberty as my sex drive fluctuated. They introduced me to an entire network of skaters in similar circumstances."

He paused momentarily, scanning over the crowd. His eyes widened in surprise, meeting those of his old coaches.

"It looks like they're all in the crowd tonight. Hello... Hugs will have to wait for later unfortunately, still have a conference to finish."

The crowd cheers and Yuri squeezes his arm gently. On the other side of him sat Guang-Hong, eyes lit up in delight. Of course. The next part of the story involved him.

"One of the skaters I was introduced to was Guang-Hong Ji here. At the time, his English was significantly better than mine, something that I greatly appreciated at international competition because he could translate it into more simplistic English that I could understand. Over time, under his tuition, my English vastly improved to the point where we could discuss topics we'd never dare to discuss with other people. Most importantly perhaps for both of us was gender identity. We were both pretty secure in our sexualities at the time, and so our curious minds turned to gender. We spent many late nights skyping each other, much to the dismay of our coaches."

The crowd laughs as Guang-Hong smirks, gesturing to his perfect makeup. Taught to him by none other than Minami himself.

"And yes, we used to practice makeup on each other during the season whenever we were assigned to the same events. Sometimes we'd even do each others' stage makeup before skates, no matter how subtle. During the off season we were braver, much braver, experimenting with different clothing. Finding ourselves in the dead of night, drapped in silky clothes and makeup. We were young, exploring who we were, who we are. We were free, we still are. We are fluid, not really settling on one identity, and that's okay with us. Our coaches were supportive of us, and I can't thank them enough for that."

He pauses, waving to his ex-coaches, who squealed and enthusiastically waved back.

"My third coach, Coach Rio, became another mother away from home. You all did, but it was my first time away from home without someone in my family. Although I only stayed with you in Canada for a year, you vastly improved my repertoire. You taught me my first quad, picked me up when I fell and celebrating alongside me when I landed it. And you also taught me how to cook, something that's proved invaluable. So thank you for that."

The crowd cheers wildly at the mention of his happy memories, so much so that he has to wait for them to settle to finish.

"Seniors was terrifying. Not only did I have a completely new coach, I was competing against my idol and in a new division that was filled with more experienced skaters than me. In the lead up to the qualifying cups, there were many moments where I'd come close to self destructing, many times where Coach Kanako had to send me off the ice because I wasn't taking care because I let anxiety sweep me away again. I'm genuinely surprised that I managed to do as well as I did on my debut. I didn't think that I was even going to make it to the qualifiers, as stupid as that sounds. Failing, can I really call it failing?" Not qualifying probably saved me as a skater. If I'd succeeded then, I would have combusted under the pressure of the other events. I took a break, admittedly forced to by Sensei, and when I arrived home my parents sat me down and pulled out an old home video that I never knew about. On it? My declaration of my dreams. And even though the journey I'd imagined didn't quite play out the way I thought it would, I succeeded spectaculaly. I am not that small child clinging desperately to the hope that one day I'd be a star. I am the adult version standing next to him and saying look, you make it one day. Don't give up, follow your dreams and never let go. The future holds something that I'd never had imagined, something that I would never have dreamed of as a child. I had no name for who I was, had no name to the world. Yet that little child grew up and look where he's gone. A sense of identity, medals in one of the harshest sports around and the best support network I could ever ask for. So I suppose my childhood dream was to succeed, against anxiety, against all odds."

Arms wind around his waist as the crowd goes wild, Guang-Hong cheering and taking photos next to them. Yuri wound his fingers through his hair and pulled him down, their lips meeting in a bruising kiss.

Oh, now this was better than any childhood dream.

This was his reality, his future.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> At this point in the story, Minami is pansexual.  
> This is also based off my own experiences but reversed.


End file.
